Anderson Jockey Lot and Farmers Market — Local services in Anderson

---Anderson Flea Market Owner --Please read and look into this. Pleasecome to the flea market and talk to "your vendors "--SundayMay4,25......I am writing this in hopes that the owner of the Anderson Flea Market will see what is going on at the Jockey Lot .The Sticker Lady Fawn got kicked out and this is what happened .First the rule of staying with your stuff. This is a rule that has been around since the flea market opened but hasn't really been enforced. It's a wink wink just be here before security gets there in the morning. Fawn has been selling under that shed for 5+years and it has never been an issue.Wink wink we have cameras we know what time you get there Fawn! Ok so what was so dif about today. This goes back 2 months ago when Fawn kept calling the office and pleading with them to help or do something to the donute line. I have complained about the customers of the donute line for years. So you have the donute trailer and they have to reserve two tables on each side of them.Why cant a sign be put up that says donute line or hell take the tables out and put the line on one side and picnic tables on the other side. So the security came down and eventually told Fawn to stop complaining and that she had to move her tables somewhere else or just leave the flea-market.Fawn did but in the process Rufus the security guard got mad at Fawn and put a bull's-eye on her back. Being a single mom Fawn works the flea market and another job where she goes to on friday sat and tuesday. She went to work this friday nite and was so tired that she decided to sleep a few hours and overslept. Rufus's security guard had already cleared two of her tables and threw it behind the office in the dirt and in the rain(see pic). Telling Fawn that this was her last week. Well you all saw the vidoe and Fawn was very upset . Its rare that i am even at the Jockey Lot and it was so sad seeing one of my best friends being put on no trespass ! I went to hug her and she almost broke down. I told her to not to let them see you cry because they would lenjoy it more and she dried up like a warrior and packed up. Everybody there knows we were such good friends and I had so many people come up to me and tell me that they was wrong.......... That nite i wrote a post on the Jockey Lot telling them off. I felt so bad for my friend losing her way of making money because the management at the jockey lots's only solution is if you don't like it then get out if not, we'll put your you on no trespassing. Time and time again i have seen this happen to friends or seen friends threaten. Then today Nicole came to me and told me about the post that I made and told me that she was a really good manager and that she looks out for her vendors and i told her that she wasn't and by far the worst manager, I have ever seen in any company that I've ever experience in my 52 years. Made me think about me complaining to her about the donut line and how there are four empty tables there and then five years later she still hasn't done anything about it.She doesnt care! At 3pm a sheriff car pulled up and Nicole ,Amy and Rufus was following behind the police officer. The police officer told me that I was being put on no trespassing and then I can never come to the Anderson-Jockey Lot again.Fawn sells there almost every week so the Owner lost about $6000 a year............ I think the owner of the fleamarket needs to really have a sit down with his manager and figure out why this type of thing happens all the time.I meet you and your wife years ago on a cold say at the fair. You was walking around and asked me to come to come be a vendor and i trold you i had bedfore. Stopped by the White. Horse Road Flea Market and Danny the owner was sitting in a rocker by the office and got up and shook my hand and said welcome back. The manger hung me and said are you coming back and i told them no maybe sometimes but it felt so good to be welcome!!!Please Mr Mac...

My wife & I are about professionally retired Fleamarketers - she used to run one, & I had my hand in the game for quite a while. And as any flea market "Flea" will tell ya': Flea Marketing can get into your blood. There's nothing like finding a fine surprise treasure, or making a buck off the same, or even more, if you are good at it. So we know the 'game'.

Flea markets started falling out of favor - or least vendors' profit lines did - back in the late 90's and hasn't quite ever recovered since, and I got the feeling from the closed spaces and obviously shrinking revenue (empty parking lots & "abandoned" buildings) and the Jockey Lot has felt the sting. For vendors it is just so-so, which is sad, because some folks make their livelihood through sales. I overheard several indoor vendors complaining about not making the rent - on a Saturday. They hadn't made even $20. BUT, as a consequence, this is a buyers' paradise.

The Jockey Lot is laid out like a city in miniature, with surrounding outbuildings and containing streets with strips devoted, in typical flea market genre', to avenues of goods. There is one, "Pet Alley" in my mind, which has almost nothing but pet & pet accessories, but like any good flea market, it has other stuff. You can spend a whole day wandering around this flea market; my wife & I spent about 6 hours total, and came back on a Sunday when crowds were lighter.

There are plenty of customers AND vendors, and therein lays some of the problem for vendors: lots of competition, which means you must keep your prices depressed - good for the buyers, but not so great for profitable business. As with ANY good flea market, this one has both new & used goods, and, I am sure, a few counterfeit items as well. Buyer beware, as always - and just because it's a copy doesn't mean it won't look good. ;-)

A tip for flea market aficionados: The tables are best for rambling and you'll find lots and LOTS of tables here. IF you want a particular item you are best shopping at an indoor store devoted to your gear, but the cost will higher. For bargains search the tables - you never know what you will find. Due to the presence of many grocery-type vendors, it's a great Farmer's Market as well, and the prices are pretty good, fruit fresh enough, and if money is tight this is the place to go for produce, no doubt, along with dry goods (e.g. soaps, OTC meds, etc.). Usually they are 15-70% lower than commercial, especially if you can get them on the tables. Though again as a vendor this hurts more than helps - but it helps us poorer buyers!

It's a great game - don't forget to haggle! - and have fun with the vendors, and remember you can always walk away from a 'deal'. Children can have fun shopping in boxes & rambling for goods, and because its cheap you can teach "money", too. There's some good Mexican fare at one of the big indoor cafe's, and plenty of flea market 'junk food' to get anyone by. For a better meal see the fruit vendors again. :)

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I am compelled to express my deep concern regarding the management practices at the Anderson Jockey Lot. Nicole, the manager, has demonstrated a pattern of abusing her authority by arbitrarily banning vendors, including myself, The Stickerlady, as well as three other individuals I am aware of. These bans were issued without just cause, merely because we civilly and politely expressed disagreement with management decisions. I have personally witnessed Nicole ban two vendors prior to my own ban and one vendor subsequent to mine, solely due to our respectful dissent. I am perplexed as to how the Jockey Lot can sustain itself with a manager who consistently bans regular vendors with established clientele, merely because of personal biases or disagreements. My own experience was particularly distressing, as I was banned and publicly embarrassed, not for violating any rules, but for requesting that management address a vendor's line that was negatively impacting surrounding vendors. Despite my efforts to resolve the issue amicably, including creating signs and a rope corral to direct the line, management ultimately involved law enforcement, resulting in my public embarrassment and the careless handling of my inventory. Furthermore, I was issued a no-trespass order without warning, despite having been a responsible and compliant vendor for five years, contributing approximately $6,000 annually to the Jockey Lot. I am sharing my story in the hope that other vendors who have been unfairly treated will come forward, and that the owner of the Jockey Lot will take notice of the management team's poor decision-making skills. I have always cherished the Anderson Jockey Lot as a wonderful place to shop and a valuable opportunity for small business owners to thrive. However, it is imperative that the owner addresses the abuse of power exhibited by Nicole and the security guard, Rufus, to prevent further harm to the Jockey Lot's reputation and longevity. I sincerely hope that the owner will take my constructive criticism seriously and implement necessary changes to benefit the Jockey Lot and its vendors. Sincerely, The Stickerlady at the Jockey Lot (my...